It has come to my attention, through various conversations of my own as well as some that other people have related to me, that the Tao Te Ching remains unknown to a very large portion of the population. Several people have asked me recently, which book has influenced me most in my life; my response is always the TTC and often I get blank looks. I realize that my path is less traveled, and I suppose we all get caught up in our own research; however, it’s a shame that this small collection of verses takes a back shelf in today’s world. The Tao is an enigma, no doubt; but regardless of one’s religion or personal philosophy, I highly recommend picking up a copy and giving it a read.

It doesn’t matter what religion you follow; this tiny volume is densely packed with honest, down-to-earth wisdom. Often particular religions are strict about avoiding any texts aside outside of their own particular manual; Christians often fall into this category, to my endless disappointment. Frankly it’s a big reason why I tend not to associate myself with this particular organized religion, even though I do happen to retain some of their basic beliefs. God is greater than any religion, I always say. It’s not Lao Tzu’s fault he lived thousands of years before Christ. Unfortunately, as well-meaning and kind as they can be, Christians are often the most close-minded of all religious groups in terms of their unwillingness to investigate beyond what their sect has dictated to them. Personally I think many Christians would be surprised how similar Lao Tzu’s words are to those of Jesus, and there is a great book, “Jesus and Lao Tzu: the Parallel Sayings” which describes this most succinctly. Another enlightening book is “Christ, the Eternal Tao”, which was written by a monk.

It’s imperative that all people of all faiths open their hearts and minds in order to avoid deception in the future. Truly this is part of my mission – perhaps the most important part. Real truth comes from within yourself, not from any outer source – therefore not even the TTC contains the ‘whole truth’, though it does provide a wider scope with which one’s inner self could expand awareness. All books, including the Bible, are tools, not ends in themselves. But putting limitations on the information and understanding we allow ourselves is exactly what the powers-that-be want us to be doing. If you think standard Christianity hasn’t been usurped by power-mongers and a suspicious elite, starting with the ‘compiling’ of the Bible in the fourth century, you have quite a bit of research ahead of you. (For that matter I take modern Taoism with a grain of salt as well; many sects have now become more like cults and one must always be on guard.)

Non-spiritual people also tend to neglect the TTC. But in truth it’s more a book of philosophy, or Way of Life, not a religion. FYI the book is not a long read, nor is it controversial – it’s a small collection of 81 verses, all of which touch your spirit uniquely and lovingly. Often I open to a random page and look for whatever wisdom Lao Tzu gives me that day; I do the same thing with the Bible at times, as well as the Upanishads, The Art of Peace, and other spiritual texts. I’ve read them all cover-to-cover by now, and though some might scorn me for using them as oracles; too bad. It works for me, and I don’t hesitate to recommend the method to others. If you’re looking for spiritual awareness and don’t know where to start, the Tao Te Ching is probably the softest touch.

If I can do anything with my blog, perhaps the single most important thing is to pass on this recommendation. If you’re curious about the Tao; if you’re stuck in your religion and want to get into your spirit; if you have no spiritual inclinations at all but are looking for inspiration – this is the book for you. If interpretation proves difficult, send me a note and I’ll help as much as I can – but I will say, each person is going to absorb the wisdom differently, and it’s actually an excellent tool for awakening your own spirit and sense of discernment.

Happy reading!!

I was listening to one of the alternative radio talk show hosts the other day, and he and his guest were discussing how some young people, though fully aware of the coming ‘new order’ and all its controversial agendas and organizations, agree to join the powers-that-be rather than be on what they think will be the ‘losing side.’  I’m not sure which is more difficult to assimilate:  that there are people out there that Know,  yet consciously choose to join the bad guys, and that they actually believe it will be the ‘winning side’; or that the ones who decide to remain and fight against the machine will have a very, very difficult time indeed. 

Yes, our future will be full of misery and chaos.  But we are already living in the future.  From microchipping to prophetic warnings; from droughts to floods, earthquakes and fires; from secret cabals and wars to chemicals in our food and air, our world is very quickly becoming a difficult place to live purely, simply and at peace – and it will surely become progressively worse in the next few years.  I have no illusions about that, and I spend quite a bit of time meditating on remaining in a place of serenity despite the chaos.  There are still pockets of truth and warmth, we just have to find and then protect them.

When we got married, my husband and I had this short phrase inscribed inside our wedding bands, a phrase that meant a lot to us spiritually then, and still means a great deal to us today.  It’s one of the ways we’ve gotten through some hard times.  Trust me, I know the arguments; many say, it can’t be ‘all good’ – there has to be bad to be good.  Or, then that would mean evil is good, and so forth.  Philosophically, yes, one can go around in circles on this one.  But the phrase has taught me some very simple yet sturdy spiritual lessons that have aided me in my daily life.  First, I have had to learn to trust that God, the Tao, has got it all worked out.  He’s perfectly aware of what’s going on, and there is a Plan – even if most of it is beyond me.  I can’t prove this; I just know it from my own personal experiences of synchronicity and spontaneous knowledge.  It’s not my job to worry about anything: not about money or health, not even about global catastrophic destruction or a global police state.  Worry is the opposite of faith and will get me nowhere.

Another lesson for me is that whatever seems ‘bad’ now can often turn into something good; the silver lining philosophy.  This is very much a tenet of Taoism, and even Christianity; “turn your scars into stars” is a favorite teaching I heard from a minister awhile back; the thought can give you hope even if it seems impossible at the time.  And lastly, that we all have a choice every moment to act either with love or with evil intent – this is how the wheat is separated from the chaff.  God, the Tao, wants us to choose love, to choose Him; without that choice, we wouldn’t be able to love so strongly, or Know Him as completely, because we wouldn’t know the difference.  So in the end, even evil has its purpose.  I know, it’s a difficult notion to absorb and certainly I don’t claim to be an authority on this; I’m just sharing how I get through the day.  I imagine we all have a way to explain the evils of the world so we can make it though.  Those who don’t are likely having a very hard time indeed.  Whatever works for you, I like to say.

Surfing the Tao is about how you live your life even though all this crazy stuff is going on.  It’s about being nice to your neighbor even though you just got fired.  It’s about raising your children with wisdom and respect, even though you suspect the future could be bleak.   It’s about recycling even if the End is Near.  It’s about lending a hand, teaching the truth and spreading love and awareness, lest Hosea ring true, “my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge”.  Though there are sure to be many truly bloody battles ahead of us, the most important battle is in our hearts, in our spirits; that part of us which is connected to the eternal.  Be a spiritual warrior: stay strong, stay wise, stay grounded.  Be aware but not afraid.  Know, but be at peace.  Teach, yet be gentle.  Remember, the future has already happened: it is done, and the good have won.  A better world is already waiting for us.  We just need to keep walking towards it.  As Lao Tzu wisely suggested, “accomplish the great task by a series of small acts.”  We all have a role to play in this final act; deep in your heart, you probably already know what yours is.

Love is the answer; love is the why, the how and the what.  In the end, love really will be all we need.  In the end, love will be all that is left.  Practice it now, today, and every moment.  Spread the word and have no fear, for love is not just soft and tender, but also ferocious and determined, like a lioness defending her cubs.  God is with us and He has not left us in the wilderness to perish.

In 1937, E.J. Thompson was writing a book about Buddhism and commented to Tagore, “To me it is increasingly clear that what the world needs is to take both Buddha’s and Christ’s teaching – the pity and tenderness of Buddhism supplies what Christianity lacks, in a certain ‘hard-boiledness’ (perhaps the fault of Christian nations). The subtle and many-colored beauty of your own wonderful life interprets Buddhism as nothing else does, and I am glad that I have known you.”

Tagore replied in his letter of the same year, “….I agree with you that both Christ and Buddha embodied in their lives the only true principles that can work for men’s common good; Buddha’s insistence on the renunciation of greed creates the necessary condition of the mind in which the love of others ceases to conflict with one’s own good. Do you know I have often felt that if we were not Hindus…I should like my people to be Christians? Indeed, it is a great pity that Europeans have come to us as imperialists rather than as Christians and so have deprived our people of their true contact with the religion of Jesus Christ…What a mental torture it is to know that men are capable of loving each other and adding to one another’s joy, and yet would not!”

(from Selected Letters of Rabindranath Tagore, Ed. Krishna Dutta and Andrew Robinson, Cambridge University Press, 1997)